Think “Caribbean,” and the first image to come to mind may be white sand and turquoise sea. The region is so much more than that, and the Kapnick Caribbean Garden captures its diverse landscape, rich cultural history, and multifaceted story.
The slightly elevated, densely planted northern end depicts the islands’ mountains, while the dry, rocky scrub at the southern point showcases cacti and succulents. A “living fence” demonstration area shows the ingenuity of islanders in using natural resources. Scattered throughout are tropical fruits and other plants critical to the region’s identity and global economic contributions such as banana, pineapple, papaya, coconut, sugar cane and coffee. A vanilla orchid trellis shows the potential of a new crop for Florida and its island neighbors, vanilla beans. The vast lawn in the Kapnick Caribbean Garden is home to Palm Hop, one of three Nature Play spaces within the Garden. Palm Hop, designed with elements sourced from our own property, encourages guests of all ages to play, create, and imagine.
The garden holds the Ware Palm Collection; numerous endangered plants, including prehistoric cycads and the Florida semaphore cactus (Consolea corralicola); and Caribbean species from the National Plumeria Collection.
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